High laser damage threshold coatings and damage testing technology

The laser-induced damage threshold(LIDT) of optical coating is a limited factor for development of a high peak power laser. The automatic damage testing facility was built to determine the LIDT of optics at 1 064 nm and 355 nm.. The cleanning and processing procedure of the substrate and coating technique were improved, and the damage resistance of high-reflective coating at 1 064 nm was increased.

改性剂对旋转法SiO2减反膜均匀性的影响

分析了采用旋转涂膜法制备溶胶-凝胶SiO2减反膜过程中条纹缺陷产生的机理,利用含氟醇类试剂对减反膜溶胶进行改性,使溶胶链段柔顺性及流动性得到改善。在光学显微镜下对改性前后的膜层进行了对比和分析,对膜层的表面形貌、表面粗糙度以及透射比等特性进行了表征。结果表明:溶胶改性之后的膜层未出现条纹缺陷,表面粗糙度均方根值从4.55 nm下降到小于1.00 nm,膜层表面质量有了较大提高;改性前后膜层的增透性能相当,在熔石英基片上制备的膜层峰值透射比为99.60%～99.89%,膜层激光损伤阈值为21.0～25.3 J/cm2。

Subsurface defect characterization and laser-induced damage performance of fused silica optics polished with colloidal silica and ceria

This paper mainly focuses on the influence of colloidal silica polishing on the damage performance of fused silica optics. In this paper, nanometer sized colloidal silica and micron sized ceria are used to polish fused silica optics. The colloidal silica polished samples and ceria polished samples exhibit that the root-mean-squared （RMS） average surface roughness values are 0.7 nm and 1.0 rim, respectively. The subsurface defects and damage performance of the polished optics are analyzed and discussed. It is revealed that colloidal silica polishing will introduce much fewer absorptive con- taminant elements and subsurface damages especially no trailing indentation fracture. The 355-nm laser damage test reveals that each of the fused silica samples polished with colloidal silica has a much higher damage threshold and lower damage density than ceria polished samples. Colloidal silica polishing is potential in manufacturing high power laser optics.

Encryption/decryption and microtarget capturing by pH-driven Janus microstructures fabricated by the same femtosecond laser printing parameters

Several natural organism can change shape under external stimuli. These natural phenomena have inspired a vast amount of research on exploration and implementation of reconfigurable shape transformation. The Janus structure is a promising approach to achieve shape transformation based on its heterogeneous chemical or physical properties on opposite sides.However, the heterogeneity is generally realized by multi-step processing, different materials,and/or different processing parameters. Here, we present a simple and flexible method of producing p H-sensitive Janus microactuators from a single material, using the same laser printing parameters. These microactuators exhibit reversible structural deformations with large bending angles of ~31°and fast response(~0.2 s) by changing the p H value of the aqueous environment. Benefited from the high flexibility of the laser printing technique and the spatial arrangements, pillar heights, and bending directions of microactuators are readily controlled,enabling a variety of switchable ordered patterns and complex petal-like structures on flat surfaces and inside microchannels. Finally, we explore the potential applications of this method in information encryption/decryption and microtarget capturing.

Mechanism of micro-waviness induced KH_2PO_4 crystal laser damage and the corresponding vibration source

The low laser induced damage threshold of the KH2PO4 crystal seriously restricts the output power of inertial confinement fusion.The micro-waviness on the KH2PO4 surface processed by single point diamond turning has a significant influence on the damage threshold.In this paper,the influence of micro-waviness on the damage threshold of the KH2PO4 crystal and the chief sources introducing the micro-waviness are analysed based on the combination of the Fourier modal theory and the power spectrum density method.Research results indicate that among the sub-wavinesses with different characteristic spatial frequencies there exists the most dangerous frequency which greatly reduces the damage threshold,although it may not occupy the largest proportion in the original surface.The experimental damage threshold is basically consistent with the theoretical calculation.For the processing parameters used,the leading frequency of micro-waviness which causes the damage threshold to decrease is between 350-1 μm-1 and 30-1 μm-1,especially between 90-1 μm-1 and 200-1 μm-1.Based on the classification study of the time frequencies of microwaviness,we find that the axial vibration of the spindle is the chief source introducing the micro-waviness,nearly all the leading frequencies are related to the practical spindle frequency（about 6.68 Hz,400 r/min） and a special middle frequency（between 1.029 Hz and 1.143 Hz）.

Correlation of polishing-induced shallow subsurface damages with laser-induced gray haze damages in fused silica optics

Laser-induced damage in fused silica optics greatly restricts the performances of laser facilities. Gray haze damage,which is always initiated on ceria polished optics, is one of the most important damage morphologies in fused silica optics.In this paper, the laser-induced gray haze damages of four fused silica samples polished with CeO2, Al2O3, ZrO2, and colloidal silica slurries are investigated. Four samples all present gray haze damages with much different damage densities.Then, the polishing-induced contaminant and subsurface damages in four samples are analyzed. The results reveal that the gray haze damages could be initiated on the samples without Ce contaminant and are inclined to show a tight correlation with the shallow subsurface damages.

Effect of structural parameters of Gaussian repaired pit on light intensity distribution inside KH_2PO_4 crystal

KH2PO4 （KDP） crystal with excellent optical properties is a very important element of inertial confinement fusion （ICF） device. However, KDP crystal surface micro-defects severely reduce the crystal laser damage threshold, affecting the crystal service life. In this paper, Gaussian repaired pit is used to replace the crystal surface micro-defects, in order to improve the laser damage resistance of the KDP crystal with surface micro-defects. At first, the physical model of Gaussian repaired pit is built by Fourier model method, and the accuracy of the method is analyzed. It is found that the calculation error can be reduced by increasing the product of the width-period ratio and the truncation constant of the repaired pit. The calculation results about the physical model of Gaussian repaired pit show that the light intensity distribution within the crystal is symmetrical, and there are evidently enhanced light intensity regions in the crystal. Meanwhile, the maximum relative intensity inside the KDP crystal decreases gradually with the increase of the width of the Gaussian repaired pit. Secondly, the Gaussian repaired pits with different widths and the same depth of 20 μm are processed by micro-milling. Their surfaces are very smooth and present the ductile cutting state under the microscope. Finally, the laser damage threshold of the Gaussian repaired pits on the surface of the KDP crystal sample is measured by a 3 ω, 6-ns laser. The results showthat the maximum threshold of the Gaussian repaired pits is 3.12 J/cm2, which is 60% higher than the threshold of initial damage point, and the laser damage threshold increases with the increase of the width of the Gaussian repaired pit.

Full-band error control and crack-free surface fabrication techniques for ultra-precision fly cutting of large-aperture KDP crystals

Large-aperture potassium dihydrogen phos- phate （KDP） crystals are widely used in the laser path of inertial confinement fusion （ICF） systems. The most common method of manufacturing half-meter KDP crystals is ultra-precision fly cutting. When processing KDP crystals by ultra-precision fly cutting, the dynamic characteristics of the fly cutting machine and fluctuations in the fly cutting environment are translated into surface errors at different spatial frequency bands. These machin- ing errors should be suppressed effectively to guarantee that KDP crystals meet the full-band machining accuracy specified in the evaluation index. In this study, the anisotropic machinability of KDP crystals and the causes of typical surface errors in ultra-precision fly cutting of the material are investigated. The structures of the fly cutting machine and existing processing parameters are optimized to improve the machined surface quality. The findings are theoretically and practically important in the development of high-energy laser systems in China.

Contamination process and laser-induced damage of HfO_2/SiO_2 coatings in vacuum

The performances of HfO2/SiO2 single- and multi-layer coatings in vacuum influenced by contamination are studied. The surface morphology, the transmittance spectrum, and the laser-induced damage threshold are investigated. The results show that the contamination in vacuum mainly comes from the vacuum system and the contamination process is different for the HfO2 and SiO2 films. The laser-induced damage experiments at 1064 nm in vacuum show that the damage resistance of the coatings will decrease largely due to the organic contamination.

Effect of λ/2 SiO_2 overcoat on the laser damage of HfO_2/SiO_2 high-reflector coatings

The effect of λ/2 SiO2 overcoat on the laser damage characteristics of HfO2/SiO2 high-reflector (HR) coatings is investigated with 1-on-l and N-on-1 laser damage test methods. The laser damage surface of 1-on-l is analyzed by a step analyzer. The surface morphologies show that laser damage makes the coating damaged area protrudent and rough for HR coating without λ/2 silica overcoat, but concave and smooth for HR coating with A/2 silica overcoat. The result of 10-on-l multi-pulse irradiation on the same point of the coating shows that there is an energy density stage on the damage curve. If the laser energy density is within the range of the stage, HfO2/SiO2 HR coatings with λ/2 silica overcoat will not be damaged more than 2 times for multi-shots, and the surface damages are very slight so that there is no impact on the coating performance. Another interesting result is that the energy density stage extends from the damage threshold to the point of about 3 times of threshold, which is similar to the effect of the laser condition on coating.

Steady-state Raman gain in visible and near-infrared waveband of Sr WO_4 and Ba WO_4 crystals

The steady-state stimulated Raman scattering （SRS） gain with different excitation wavelengths ranging from 400 to 1100 nm of tungstate crystals, SrWO4 and BaWO4, is systematically researched. As excitation frequency is close to electronic transition frequency, molecular polarizability is not a constant, which has to be taken into account in our work. The experiment and theory agree well with each other and show that SRS gain is not only proportional to Stokes light frequency, but is also inversely proportional to biquadratic excitation frequency.

Phase matching characteristics of deuterated ammonium dihydrogen phosphate crystals

Refractive indices for crystals ammonium dihydrogen phosphate （ADP）, 30% deuterated ADP （DADP）, 50% DADP, and 70% DADP are measured from 253 to 1529 nm with 5 × 10^-6 accuracy. Numerical fits to modified double-pole Sellmeier equation are made. Second-harmonic generation, third-harmonic generation phase match- ing （PM） angles, and noncritical PM （NCPM） wavelengths are calculated using the Sellmeier parameters. The deuterated crystals show smaller PM angles than pure crystal. Fourth-harmonic generation process can be real- ized by DADP in smaller deuterium content than deuterated potassium dihydrogen phosphate （DKDP）. The measured NCPM wavelengths are consistent with the calculated value. PM characteristics are compared between DADP and DKDP.

Accuracy and analysis of long-radius measurement with long trace profiler

The long trace profiler （LTP） is proposed to measure radius of curvature （R） and surface figure of a longradius spherical surface in an optical shop. Equipped with a motorized rotary stage and a two-dimensional tilt stage, the LTP scans the full aperture and calculates the absolute radius of curvature of each scanning line based on the least square method. Nonlinear error and manufacture error difference between center and the edge are obtained by comparing R results. The R-limit is validated and expressed as D/R, where D is the aperture of the mirror under test. A full-aperture three-dimensional figure is also reconstructed based on triangle interpolation.